Family
by gawilliams
Summary: Bones has a talk with Parker in the aftermath of The Warrior In The Wuss.


_This is just something I thought of when I saw the latest episode. The family moments were priceless in my opinion and deserved something. I hope you enjoy this one. Gregg._

_Disclaimer: I don't own, or profit from, these characters or franchise. No copyright infringement is intended._

"Hey, Bones," Parker said when he came down stairs and saw Bones and Chrissy in the dining room at the table. Bones was looking at something on her laptop and Chrissy was playing with her hair. Parker liked the scene before him. "Where's Dad?" he asked.

"Booth had some things to do at the office, but he'll be home this afternoon," Bones told him, smiling at Booth's son. "Actually, it will give me a chance to talk to you about a couple of things."

"Cool," Parker said, taking a seat. He always loved talking with Bones, though he wasn't sure if he was in trouble or not from what he'd done the last few days. Sure he'd done it all to make the hanging toy for Chrissy, but he had lied and destroyed some things in order to do it. They might not be mad, but he had done some things that he knew were wrong.

"I owe you an apology," Bones said bluntly. "When I found all of the things in your closet, I invaded your privacy. I came into your room because I was worried and when you weren't there, I investigated. It's what your Father and I do. But that didn't make it completely right."

Parker shrugged. "You were worried, Bones," he replied. "I can't be upset at someone for that, can I?"

Bones chuckled. "You're probably right, but it took me far longer than you to realize that," she told him. "I used to get so angry when your Father would do things because he was worried about me."

"Like doing background checks on your dates?" Parker asked, a sneaky grin on his face.

Her eyes widened. "You know about that?" she asked.

"I caught Dad once on the phone doing it," he shrugged. "Dad didn't sound too happy with what he heard."

Bones mentally calculated how old Parker would have needed to be to really understand what Booth had been doing and estimated that he had been checking out Mark, the Deep Sea Welder. She grimaced, recalling how incredibly foolish she had been over that fiasco.

"I don't imagine he was," Bones agreed. She smiled slightly at the memory, though. It was that whole fiasco, as well as the disastrous events surrounding her meeting Booth's brother Jared that had shown her what she really wanted in her life, though she was sad that it had taken her so long since then to make it a reality. "The point I was trying to make, Parker, was that you should be able to expect better from me. Sometimes things are unavoidable, but on this I should have talked with you instead of investigating like that. I will try and do better next time."

Parker cocked his head. "But this is your house, Bones," he told her. "You can do anything you want."

Bones chuckled at his adolescent logic. "Within reason," she acknowledged. "But this whole thing has accomplished one very important development."

"What's that?" Parker asked.

"I've been very nervous about what would happen when you came to stay with us," she admitted. "I wasn't sure of my place. You're my friend, Parker. That will never change. But I'm with your Father now, and he is my family. Yesterday when Booth and me were at the Diner he told me we both had to confront you. Not because he wanted backup like when we are on a case, but because we are a family. You've always been family to me, too, Parker, but this made it feel real."

"So, I do something good, but everyone thinks I'm being bad, but it makes you feel something good, so it's all good?" Parker questioned, trying to keep everything straight. He understood how things had appeared, and knew that no one was ganging up on him, but the way it kept getting explained seemed complicated.

"That sums it up nicely," Bones smiled, then grimaced as Chrissy pulls her hair hard.

"She likes my hair, too," Parker said with a sly grin.

"She leaves Booth's alone," Bones remarked with a slight bit of jealousy, given the state of her hair when Chrissy was done with it.

"So what's the second thing you wanted to talk about?" Parker got the conversation back on track. He wasn't sure he wanted to get into any mushy stuff with Bones. That was his Dad's department.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go with me and help choose the perfect flat panel television for your Father's Man Cave," she smiled. "I think he deserves a better one that what he has to enjoy his games."

Parker's eyes lit up. He knew just the set to get. "I know the perfect one!" he said excitedly.

"And while your Dad enjoys his new entertainment toy, you can enjoy your new laptop," she told him and turned the laptop she'd been looking at when he came down towards him. "This is my old one that Dr. Hodgins just refurbished for you since I bought a new one for myself a couple of weeks ago. I thought it would help you with school."

His eyes widened. "Wow!" he said excitedly. He took it in and saw that it was a MacBook Pro, and a high end one, too.

"Your Dad and I talked about it before you got back from England and your Mom agreed that you should have one," Bones told him, smiling at his reaction.

"Awesome!" he said and then began playing with the computer. He looked up and smiled. "Thanks, Bones! You're the best!"

"Hurry and eat some cereal," Bones told him, pleased he liked the gift. "I want to have the television back and installed before Booth gets home. I need to change Christine and get ready myself."

That afternoon Booth came home a bit tired and a little frustrated. Hacker had wanted some paperwork finished and then called a meeting that could have easily waited until Monday. So instead of enjoying a whole day with his family, Booth had been stuck listening to some idiots who wouldn't know a dead body if it fell on them. Something caught his attention, though, and he about had a stroke. His TV! It was in the garage instead of in it's home, the Man Cave! What the Hell? The big game came on in half an hour and the viewing machine was nowhere near the Man Cave!

Booth rushed inside and bellowed. "BONES!" he shouted, and made his way to his beloved Man Cave. Finding no one, and fearing the worst for his Sanctuary (he knew that Bones had been bitter about no Anthropologist's Cave, but come on!), he opened the door after offering up a silent prayer that there hadn't been too much damage done. He knew how Bones could be.

Walking into the Man Cave he flipped the switch on the lights and gasped at what he saw on the wall that had housed his TV. It was a damn thing of beauty! A brand new 105 inch flat panel television in all it's magnificent glory! His eyes quickly scanned the Man Cave and saw that everything was in perfect order, much to his relief. But that TV! Watching the games would be a freaking religious experience from now on!

"_You like it_?" Bones voice came to him as her arms wrapped around him from behind, holding him tightly.

"Can't take my eyes off it, Bones," he said, still taking in the sight and almost pinching himself to make sure it wasn't some sort of hallucination.

"Parker said it was the best one in the store," Bones told him simply.

"My boy's a genius, Bones," Booth said firmly. "Granted he needs to learn a bit about the value of money if this is what he considers reasonable, but I won't argue with the results."

"I told him to find me the best," Bones replied, amused at the knowledge Booth considered necessary for one to be labeled a genius. She wold tease him about it later, though.

"Uh, not to sound ungrateful, Bones, but what brought this on? You hate the Man Cave," Booth reminded her.

Bones pulled him around to face her. She placed her arms over his shoulders and around his neck. "Because you've made us a family, and showed me that I have a place in that family," she told him. "An equal place, even when it comes to Parker."

Booth smiled down on her. "You've been family since the moment I first laid eyes on you, Bones," he told her, exaggerating a bit, but not by much. He knew he'd said the right thing when she pulled him down for a searing kiss. "Why don't you go get Parker and we can all enjoy the new addition to the Man Cave," he suggested.

"Hockey?" she asked, as it was the only sport she actually liked, and usually only when Booth was playing, though she did watch the occasional match with him on TV.

"Yep! An exhibition match," he told her. He smiled when she went to go get Parker and Christine. Maybe the day wasn't so bad after all. What could be better than spending the late afternoon and evening with your family? He turned to go turn on the set. Yep. There was nothing better than family.

_A/N: This story didn't write like I had originally thought it, but I think it conveys the same basic idea. I hope you all enjoyed this one. Gregg._


End file.
